How to Spot a Liar

閱讀暖身： 說謊當然不好，但你常費心解讀客戶、同事、下屬、上司的謊話嗎？談判專家理論可幫助你揭露誰在說謊。 看到這些中文字，你想得到它們的英文怎麼說嗎： (答案在文章裡) 

(A) 慣謊者（騙子） (B) 省略（避重就輕） (C) 平均 
Asked why the topic of deception is important to business research, negotiation expert Deepak Malhotra responds, “As ⁽¹⁾it turns out, some people will lie and cheat in business!” “Evidence for thePinocchio Effect” fills a key gap in the field of deception research, says the study’s lead author. “Just like Pinocchio’s nose, the number of words grew along with the lie!” 

「欺騙」為什麼是商業研究裡重要的話題？談判專家Deepak Malhotra說：「商場上總有人說謊或欺騙！」「還記得說謊鼻子會變長的小木偶嗎？在研究別人是不是說真話，恰好可派上用場，」這項研究的主要作者說，「就像小木偶皮諾丘的鼻子，說謊時用的字也是是越說越長！」 

To garner a sample of truth tellers, liars, and deceivers by omission, the researchers recruited 104 participants to play the ultimatum game, a popular tool among experimental economists. 
研究人員招募了104人，排演了一場根據經濟學賽局理論的最後通牒遊戲來測謊，參加人員被區分為說實話、說謊、避重就輕說謊。 

⁽²⁾In terms of strategic cues, the researchers discovered the following: 1.^(A) Bald-faced liarstended to use many more words than did truth tellers, presumably in an attempt to win over suspicious receivers. 2.People who ⁽³⁾engaged in deception by ^(B) omission, on the other hand, used fewer words and shorter sentences than truth tellers. 

從一些策略線索，研究人員發現： 1. 騙徒傾向比說實話者多用很多的字，可能是想要取信於懷疑的聽眾。 2. 避重就輕說謊話的人，則是相對的話少。

Among the findings related to nonstrategic cues: 1.^(C) On average, liars used more swear words than did truth tellers, especially in cases where the recipients voiced suspicion about the true amount of the endowment. 2.Liars used far more third-person pronouns than truth tellers. “This is a way of distancing themselves from and avoiding ownership of the lie,” the researcher explains. 3.Liars spoke in more complex sentences than truth tellers. 

而非策略面線索則顯示： 1.說謊的人普遍都比說實話者更愛發誓，特別在發現對方語氣透漏出懷疑時。 2.和說實話相比，說謊時用了比較多的第三人稱敘述，「這是使自己脫罪的一種說謊手法，」研究人員解釋。 3.說謊者用了比實話更多的（英文文法）複合句。 

On average, receivers tended to trust the bald-faced liars far more than they trusted the allocators who tried to deceive by omission. “It turns out that omission may be a terrible deception strategy,” the researchers said. 

平均來說，聽者傾向於相信大膽說謊的騙徒，反而懷疑省略實話的說謊伎倆。結果顯示，「避重就輕，變成了最糟糕的騙術」研究人員說。 

“This is early stage research,” the negotiation expert Malhotra says. “It would be a mistake to take the findings as gospel and apply them too strictly. Rather, the factors we find to be associated with lies and deception are perhaps most useful as warning signs that should simply prompt greater vigilance and further investigation regarding the veracity of the people with whom we are dealing. 

美國這份研究的談判專家表示：「這只是第一階段的研究，不要當成了測謊教條。我們發現的這些說謊因素，適合當做小心說謊的警訊，讓人們有所警覺，來應對進退你所交涉的人物。」

口語字彙:

1. It turns out 結果是、證明是 e.g. It turned out that I was right. 例句：結果證明我是對的。
2. in terms of  按照…的觀點、根據…來說 e.g. In terms of service, that restaurant is excellent. 例句：就服務而言，那家餐廳是很棒。
3. engage in 使…參加、牽涉…；從事 e.g. Is it wise to engage in drinking if you are going to have to drive home? 例句：如果要開車回家，此時涉足喝酒是明智之舉嗎？

世界公民文化中心是一所兩年制英語學院。

以「英語島學程」獨有的一對一教學和國際商業趨勢同步的團體討論課程，幫助企業人士善用英語整合能力，達成個人和企業國際化的目標，為高科技與國際跨國公司仰賴的商務英語學習機構。

預約甄選